FINDLAY -- When Gov. John Kasich approached the microphone Monday night, he had with him a card filled with notes. And somewhere on that card, though not nearly as high up as you might think, was Issue 2.

In speeches at Republican Party dinners on a farm in Logan County and later on the University of Findlay campus, Mr. Kasich did indeed make his case for Issue 2, the ballot measure for the GOP-backed limits on collective bargaining contained in Senate Bill 5.

But in both instances, before he got to his defense of Issue 2, Mr. Kasich spent about 30 minutes discussing JobsOhio, prison-sentencing reform for nonviolent criminals, Medicaid reform, the businesses he has persuaded to remain or locate in Ohio, and a two-year state budget that filled a projected $8 billion deficit without raising taxes.

Senate Bill 5, which removes the right of some public employees to strike, eliminates binding arbitration, takes health benefits and staffing levels off the bargaining table, and is the subject of perhaps the most closely watched election in the country this fall, is simply a piece of his broader agenda, according to Mr. Kasich.

"People don't know everything that we've done," Mr. Kasich said after his speech in Findlay. "We have transformed things in the last eight months that people haven't seen in years. People need to know that. They also need to know what's behind Issue 2, but see, the media is transfixed on Issue 2."

But if Issue 2 is a referendum on Mr. Kasich's grand plan, it could play right into his opponents' hands.

"I think Ohioans have been rendering judgment on Governor Kasich for quite some time," said Dale Butland, a spokesman for Innovation Ohio. "Depending on the poll, 60 to 70 percent say they don't like what he's done."

First Published October 11, 2011, 4:36 a.m.